Michio Naoi

Earthquake Risk in Japan: Consumers' Risk Mitigation Responses After the Great East Japan Earthquake

The destructive impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11, 2011 has enhanced consumers earthquake preparedness even in unaffected areas. This paper uses unique survey data collected after the earthquake to study how consumers reacted to this catastrophic event. We find that self-reported, perceived preparedness for natural disasters has significantly improved even among low-income households after March 11, but that post-quake intentions for more specific risk mitigation activities were systematically associated with household income and wealth levels. Our results indicate that the recent events might have widened the gap in disaster preparedness between rich and poor.

Earthquakes and the Quality of Life in Japan

Japan is famous for its earthquakes. How do households and firms respond to this potentially devastating risk? How does earthquake risk affect housing costs and wages? To answer these questions, we construct a Quality of Life Index (QOLI) and estimate the social cost of earthquake risk among cities/counties in Japan. The regional QOLI is obtained through estimating the hedonic wage and housing rent regressions using household longitudinal data covering all Japan. From the estimated results, we find that earthquake risk has a significant impact on the overall quality of life in Japanese prefectures, and that there are large city/county differences in terms of the social cost of earthquake risk. Finally, we argue that the large regional variation in the social cost of earthquakes arises from earthquake insurance market imperfections – crude and rough geographical risk rating – and propose a possible remedy for enhancing earthquake insurance risk assessment.

Sustainable Development in Japan and South Korea

In this chapter, we discuss sustainable development in Japan and South Korea in terms of geography, well-being, economic structure, and environmental sustainability.

Lessons in Sustainable Development from Japan and South Korea

Hsu, Sara; Naoi, Michio; Zhang, Wenjie.2014.Lessons in sustainable development from Japan and South Korea,Book,[New York, U.S.]Palgrave Macmillan US,Comparative studies of sustainable development in Asia,125

Sustainable Development Programs and Experiments

Both Taiwan and China have recognized the need to improve sustainable development, and have increased the number of sustainable development programs and experiments that they are involved with. Although a comprehensive list is not provided, in this chapter, we list and discuss some of these.

Income Risk and Mortgage Choice Among Japanese Households

This paper empirically examines the relationship between income risk and mortgage instrument choice among Japanese households. Since theoretical predictions about the impact of income risks on mortgage choice are mixed, it is important to investigate empirically whether or not risky households borrow ARM loans. In order to answer this question, we construct several measures of income variability and unemployment risk that capture the income risk of the specific household. Our empirical result suggests that these income risk measures are in general negatively associated with the choice of fixed-rate mortgage contract, indicating that risky borrowers are more likely to choose adjustable-rate mortgages. Furthermore, we also find that the impact of income risk on the mortgage choice depends critically on the individual risk preferences. While there is significantly negative impact of income variability and unemployment risk on the mortgage choice for the risk averse borrowers, no systematic relationship can be found for borrowers with low risk aversion.